Judge C. Darren Tallman was elected a family court judge in November 2002, in the first elections for the newly constituted West Virginia Family Court system. Judge Tallman was re-elected in 2008, 2016 and 2024.

Judge Tallman is a graduate of Pennsboro High School (1978). He graduated from West Virginia University (1983) with a bachelor's degree in political science. He attended law school at Ohio Northern University before transferring to the West Virginia University College of Law, from which he received a law degree in 1986. Judge Tallman was admitted to practice law in West Virginia in 1986. 

He served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Wood County (1989-1993) and as an attorney in the West Virginia Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (1993-1996). He later served as a mental hygiene commissioner for Wood County (1999-2002). Judge Tallman also maintained a private practice from 1986 until his election to the family court bench and was a general practitioner in various areas of law practice. In 1998 he was recognized by Legal Aid of West Virginia for his extensive work to help pro se litigants.

Judge Tallman has served as the presiding judge over the Wood County Juvenile Drug Court from its inception in 2010 until the present. In 2018 the Wood County Commission awarded him the Spirit of Wood County award for his work with the drug court. 

Judge Tallman and his wife, Sharyn, live in Parkersburg. He has three adult children and one grandchild.